


None Shall Be Seated

by SockPuppetHusk



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Lovers, Heavy Rewrite in progress, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, some headcanons, space travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:08:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25265116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SockPuppetHusk/pseuds/SockPuppetHusk
Summary: Zim has left Earth, seemingly for almost no discernable reason, leaving Dib to follow or claim it as a victory for Earth. Of course he's going to follow Zim but to what extent does his dedication go?Update: So I'm updating this fic as seen by the rewrite tags. Things will be a little awkward as I try to update chapters and whatnot, bear with me?
Relationships: Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	1. Strange Things Happen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Rewritten)  
> Zim has been feeling awful but also acting pretty strange. Dib is left in the dark as the Irken up and leaves Earth, what else is there to do but follow?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what else to name the chapters with other than Spirit Phone album songs/lyrics. Anyway, I'm very excited to... well, be excited about writing again. There's no way I'll have a consistent schedule, sadly.

Zim crawled to the entrance of his lab. If it weren’t for his willpower he would have puked into the false toilet, but the elevator swallowed him downwards. The rush of moving felt like his whole being was being thrown upwards in his own body. What was this horrible feeling consuming him?

"Computer!" the Irken screamed as the doors opened. Mechanical whirs and booting up pounded against his inner ears, but he crawled toward it nonetheless. "Complete a body scan and identify symptoms!" What could this even be, to overpower an Irken immune system takes devastating effects.

A ping alerted Zim the scan was complete...

  
"Dib, dinner." Gaz kicked in the garage door. Dib on the other hand was clutching his foot from kicking his latest project. He was losing precious time to get it in working order, a week had already passed and little to nothing to go on. Zim not only increased his security but had sent G.I.R out on numerous errands, that is until the invader's Voot-cruiser burst into the sky like a firework to blink into the nothingness of space. Gaz scoffed mid-pivot at her brother's stupidity, leaving him to clean up and follow her to the house.

"Why are you working on the ship?" The question left Dib staring at the water running grime off his hands. His head wasn't in the kitchen but back in the garage with his work.

"Why do you care?" there was no malice, he truly didn't know why she would even bother asking. Sitting in the seat across from her filled the silence she answered him with. Dadbot wheeled his way over to make them what could hardly be called food. Gaz looked up from her filling plate, words carefully picking themselves out.

"You're more dedicated to this project than usual," they weren't careful enough if the furrowed brows were enough to go by. So she rolled with it,

"Is it to impress Dad? It's the last Friday of the month..." the empty chair between the two Membrane children did not make a convincing diversion. Dib couldn't bear to look at it, the basement door muffled all the lab equipment but not the disappointment of another broken promise. With their meals finished, the siblings went their separate ways for the night.

The door of Dib's room swung open to reveal how dark the night had become. Gingerly smacking his hand across the wall, Dib eventually hit the light switch and nearly blinded himself with the bright overhead light. After flicking on some of his other lamps he turned off the switch in favor of the dimmer lighting. The corkboard was full of notes, the most recent being a to-do repair list, mathematical equations, and rough translations of Irken labels. With the wall he hit in the garage today, Dib wondered if he could find help on the Swollen Eyeball forum he used to practically live on.

The laptop booted and clicking through a few files, folders, and webpages Dib left open as a "maze-like ruse." The Swollen Eyeball icon took over his screen for a few moments before revealing the network. Dib muddled around, talked to some associates who actually believed the Zim endeavors, listened for updates of activity in his area and even neighboring areas. But most importantly he asked around for engineering tips for foreign technology, sadly most of the answers he had were people assuming he was talking about across the globe, not across the stars. Deciding it wasn't worth succumbing to internet-based arguing, Dib watched the Network close and his normal desktop screen reappear.

Spinning in the chair he ended up in, Dib faced the corkboard again. Thoughts bounced around endlessly about the past few days, the frustration of failure, the unexplained departure, the alienation of fighting an alien nation. Definitely the worries of a 17-year-old boy. The frustration became broiling and irrational, the corkboard shuttered at the impact of Dib's head to the wall.

"Stupid custom Voot, gnome security, tiny invader pest-" he grumbled out until his poor forehead hit the corner of the board, surprising an explicative out of Dib. Feeling the blood against his fingers seemed to shock him out of his spiraling frustration and into an empty-minded state. After slinking into the bathroom and cleaning the small cut, Dib narrowly avoided Gaz on her way to bed as he returned to his room and flopped onto his bed. The thud of his boots blended into the opening of his window and the starry summer sky was what Dib started at until he blinked into sleepy oblivion.

That was until he was interrupted by his brain having the audacity to think. Think about how for five years and some change that Dib and Zim had been at each other's throats. It was so normal to come home covered in bruises and scrapes with only a scrap of uniform fabric or Irken blood staining his shoes as evidence. Threats, gadgets of doom, punches, and the endless rivalry had filled up so much time; and to think that only he got to see it, he was the only one fighting. But he wasn't, Zim was fighting too because they fought each other and that's what made sense.  
At least, it did at the time.

Another hard week of engine explosions and mechanical mess-ups but it was finally done. Dib stood proudly over the ship, the engine no louder than a whisper as it ran. Gaz kicked down the door to announce dinner but stopped to be slightly impressed by the success; it didn't stop her from threatening Dib to come eat though. They sat contently and it must have been his mood but Dib found the food was less off-tasting than usual. He looked at Gaz to ask her if she thought so too-

"Good evening children!" Professor Membrane said as the basement door revealed the eldest Membrane. Both children just stared as their father sat in his place at the table.

"So, how was your month, respectively? Next week is a start of a new month as is!" Neither Dib nor Gaz had the chance to answer as the professor caught sight of the kitchen calendar. "Oh!" He quickly rose from the table, leaving the bewildered siblings to watch him run down the basement steps and then back up to the table.

"I'm sorry, children. It seems that my latest experiments messed up the times on all of my clocks!" The silence stretched on, no longer in confusion but in disbelief. Their dad had actually tried to keep his promise, for once it was a silly little mistake and not another scientific endeavor...

"It's ok Dad, at least you made it to dinner." Gaz had a small, but very obvious, smile on her face. Dib didn't know if he wanted to either to share her joy in that their father finally remembered to join them or feel disgruntled for the fact that he missed it because of a simple mistake. Something small in the back of his mind, made him forget to be frustrated at all; if anyone was going to be missing family dinner night it was going to be him soon enough. A weak smile of his own crawled onto his face, letting the conversation bounce between his family. It was short-lived as the few times Dib opened his mouth led to his current... project.

"That's good son that you're working on something involving real sciences," Membrane patted Dib's head as the three began to clean up the table, "maybe you can show it to me for feedback, or turn it in for a scholarship-"

"No!" Dib feared this would happen, he couldn't let all fall apart now. "Uh, I want to make sure it's perfect before anyone else sees it!" Gaz's brow perked up at the way Dib's voice cracked, if she heard it there's no way dad didn't. A beat of silence and a bead of sweat later, the Game Salve start-up sound pounded into his ears like his own heartbeat.

"Very well then son, I can't wait to see it then! Now, goodnight children, I will see you next family dinner night." Back into the basement, their father went lab coat swishing ever so cooly.

"Close call," Gaz snorted at her brother but grew somber, "you gonna leave tonight?" Dib was so caught up in remembering the last time she laughed at him (besides maliciously) that the question didn't even have an answer for him to give.

"Probably not…" the soon spaceborne teenager turned to look at his sister fully. There she was, 17 and still sporting her maw-like hairstyle from when she was 11, Game Slave rested naturally in her hands as if she had been borne with it. Everything was so achingly familiar from all the years they've grown up together in. "I'll leave tomorrow," nodding, Dib finalized his decision, it'd be better to get a head start on the day-

"Fine, after dinner." After dinner it was. As the sun rose the next morning, it dragged Dib out of bed in turn. Today was the day he committed to his choices. The teenager was a blur or packing and prepping, running from throughout the house to the garage and back again. Dib stopped for lunch, a sandwich while sprawled on the floor as Gaz sat on the couch with her own.

"You're still calling me every last Friday." Gaz's voice was followed with a crunch of toast leaving no room to argue. Her eyes pierced Dib's, her glare holding a hint of something Dib could only name as when he last felt it. Guilt flooded his mouth washing out any enjoyable taste of his lunch; the crunch of it feeling too loud.

"I- I will. Promise," Dib's cowlick swayed as he nodded his head, he truly meant it. Soon crumbs were transferred from anxiously sweaty palms to pant legs, Dib ran to the garage to tweak a few things. A communicator beeped to life as a number was entered into it and a human-based calendar system was integrated into the side control panel.

"Dib, I made dinner!" Gaz's foot hitting the door had become a familiar sound over the days spent toiling in the garage. The familiarity of it removed the veil that Gaz wasn't just calling him for dinner, she was calling him for dinner she made. From the cockpit Dib almost wanted to cry and give it all up, but... but he couldn't.

"Coming." Dib placed his tools away, Gaz silently waiting with the door leaning on her more than she it. With a few bags from earlier placed into the ship, Dib followed Gaz back to the house. Dadbot went unseen as they sat down, Dib smiled at the plate of actual food, and at his sister who glared back at him.

"This is good," a mouthful of mashed potatoes muffled the compliment. Gaz replied by biting down onto a fork of her own, copying Dib's poor manners with a muffled "thanks". A rare moment of childish nature returned to them, a smile forcing itself where it should be, but it didn't because their mouths were too stuffed with mashed potatoes.

Clinking dishes acted as the alarm to Dib's departure if only there was a snooze button. Slowly ascending the stairs to receive his last bag, Dib checked his bedroom, looking for anything he may have missed. His notes no longer hogged the cork-board, his laptop's space on the desk was bare as well as the rest of it. The closet nearly empty because Dib never had anything he "might" wear. The room was hardly recognizable, it was nearly sensible looking. Dib closed the door and made his way back downstairs.

"Dib," Gaz stood at the back door of the house fidgeting with her hands, "Good luck."

"Thanks, Gaz," Dib thought a nod would feel empty, so he followed his instinct. The bag flopped to the ground, making room to grab Gaz for a hug. Both were shocked by the sentiment, a foreign element to their dynamic, but neither let go until tears needed to be wiped away. No other words were said as they separated, the hug conveying enough. The door shut quietly between them as Dib looked at the garage, felt the summer air for the last of some time. A sense of determination fell onto his shoulders, a weight keeping him from turning back. He entered the workspace, placing his last bag with the others, and started the ship.


	2. Sailor of the Star Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hunt for Zim is officially on the move! What could possibly go wrong?

Days sped by in space, Dib noting everything that he could see, sleep foreign to him until his body forced him to do so. His empty journal has a few pages already filled with scribbles and sketches of small planets he's passed. A rough path was programmed into the ship since he was able to convince the A.I. to find the echoes Zim's trail, albeit with more begging than Dib would care to admit.

"Why are we doing this again?" Tak's voice engulfed the small space; Dib was barely able to add more room for his lankier frame during his tampering. "Zim left Earth and that was the whole point, right?"

"While its great that Zim evacuated, the whole point was to expose the truth of aliens, him especially." Dib mindlessly answered the ship, it was the same answer he was giving himself. This was a mission to prove the paranormal as a real science to his dad, not some heat of the moment vengeance for Zim leaving him behind with no explanation of "inevitable doom." Tak's voice did not offer a scathing response which both worried and relieved Dib.

Days became a week or two, a small calendar hung on one of the cruiser's walls. No conversation has occurred since the A.I.'s prodding, leaving Dib to mutter to himself as he jotted notes or mused about improvements now that he knew how the custom Voot worked in action.

"So I went over my notes and your downloaded medical texts," Tak's voice startled Dib so much that he toppled from his chair. Scrambling to rise again, Dib tried to process the A.I.'s words.

"I'm sorry, what?" He couldn't.

" _ So I went over my notes and your downloaded medical texts, _ " the ship sarcastically repeated. "You're in denial."

"I'm sorry, what?" Dib glared at the ceiling, just picking a direction since the intelligence was everywhere. Denial about what? His resolve to settle a score, on the behalf of  _ humanity _ , in what way was he in denial?

"You're harboring a personal grudge against Zim for this, or some emotion," The A.I. grumbled at Dib's glare, but the programmed personality knew he wouldn't do anything. "I don't care but you're being moody, and I hate it."

Dib stared blankly upward, taken aback by the claim. He didn't have something against Zim personally, just disappointment that he couldn't expose him. Just because the one constant in his life disappeared doesn't mean he's going to throw a fit. The one constant thing…

"NO!" Dib stomped his foot, pushing the idea that the A.I. was right, this wouldn't do.

"Fine grumpy, the stop complaining about him." And so Dib shut up and kept to himself for the next hour or so. Whenever he opened his mouth to complain he would shut it just as fast because it was about vaguely about Zim; he looked almost like a gulping fish at that point.

They lasted like this, Dib fuming and trying to put his skewed puzzle pieces together and the A.I. taunting him when he finished the puzzle wrong again. Hours passed and Dib took to hiding in his notebook; then closing the hardback cover and looking over his shoulder, Dib thought to check his food supply. Post opening the compartment to store the edibles, crunching some numbers over an "energy bar," then comparing it to initial inventory, Dib saw he needed to make a food stop.

Plopping back into the decent chair, Dib's calendar was only a full day away from his first call home. It's been almost a full month in space, Dib let his eyes fall from the gridded paper to the starry expanse.

"Closest food stop?" Dib called up to the A.I. in hopes of somewhere close. A disgruntled sigh and some clicking of typing was his response until a small GPS-esque map appeared on the windshield. With a small 'oh' from the pilot, the ship started off toward Foodcourtia; this would be Dib's first stop and  _ of course _ it would be one of the Irken Empire's planets (the GPS thing marked it as so).

"Quit grumbling, it's your species fault your food supplies can't be stretched out farther." Dib didn't know whether to be embarrassed by talking out loud or undignified on the behalf of his species, he decided a shameful silence as stars flew past. Hours quickly passed until Dib started noticing more and more ships, he was finally amongst other travelers and he was terrified in the best way.

" _ Ugghhhhhhh _ , just head over to that parking lot, the one with the occasionally flashing lights," Dib was shaken out of his excitement as Tak's voice told him where to park, following the directions the best he could. Landing was a little rough, but it was pretty good for his first time. Before he hopped out, Dib grabbed the money he had saved up over his entire life (a lot since he already had access to so many gadgets) to go change over and the temporary translator he made using the A.I.'s language data.

"Uh, hi," Dib tested the translator at a booth, one of many similar ones where money was being put in and equally out. "I'm here to change over-" the alien in the booth just pointed at the slot just below the glass, Dib got the idea pretty quick and inserted about forty dollars. The worker inside it examined the currency before pushing a ton of what was probably universal coinage. After struggling to get it in his backpack (not expecting to get tons of small golden coins) Dib nodded his thanks and scurried deeper into the planet.

Grease, foreign species, lights and more grease was all he could take in without being overwhelmed. Dib found it funny that despite his growth continuing at his age, he was taller compared to most; though some species where at least a third of his height taller. Encouraged by the familiarity of a mall food court, Dib looked through the crowd and saw a sign cut off by a taller species reading "-t Dogs!" and rushed toward it.

"Hi!" Dib waited through the lengthy line, the smell of food keeping him from leaving. He picked something random, what looked like mini hot dogs, and paid. The Irken serving him looked indifferent to his enthusiasm but Dib couldn't care less. Caring the disposable tray and eating the small food made it easier to go look around; once he finished, Dib refocused on finding foods that wouldn't expire in his ship before he could eat them. It wasn't until his backpack was full and his wonder expanded that he noticed an Irken, just above his waist in height and the Invader uniform collar. Dib was lying to himself when he thought "there's tons of Irkens here, why would Zim be out in the open?" and made his way over.

He was a few feet away when the Irken turned, Dib finally getting a full view, this wasn't Zim. He was a little chubbier and much more friendlier looking. They made eye contact and the invader awkwardly smiled, but a small distance behind him another Irken turned. Trying to play off looking at the other Irken, Dib raised his head to see him. Zim's resting glare of arrogance, the recognition and sudden mix of fear and anger on his face. Dib rushed past the first Invader who dodged out of his path in confusion; Zim gritted his teeth and ducked into a side path, Dib closing in on his rubbery heels.


	3. Trails Ablaze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zim?! Well that was eas- nevermind...

Zim's 'spooch pounded as the lights bounced of the Dib's lenses, he followed him into space. Somehow Zim felt a flare of pride that he had driven this human to complete devotion to his cause but then a mix of fear and anger that Zim was not exactly on the good end of this devotion. So he ran, it's what they did, the location was different and it was now Zim's turn to know the back alleyways of this planet.

The echoes of boots drove him to sprint farther into the alleyways, but Dib's legs were long and ears used to Zim's fleeing footsteps. Their advantages and disadvantages leveled out, equals. Zim couldn't help but smirk at the thought, this pathetic human outlier was his equal. But how long had they been fighting to adapt as such?

A sharp turn led Zim back to the parking garage, with a short flash he summoned his Voot and started takeoff. Dib's figure was shrinking but in horror Zim saw Tak's dreaded Voot appear on the teleportation pad for Dib to drive. Soon both Invader and Investigator were in space, the pink and off-purple backdropped by the stars that blurred from their speed.

"Stupid Dib-human! You'll never catch me!" A cackle bubbled out of Zim, adrenaline screaming through him like giant radioactive rubber pants! This past month (Zim had started running on human time after 3 years of it) had been… boring. But he needed supplies for his next plan. Zim knew he could have used Prisoner 777, stayed on his planet and just did the usual… but he needed to get out. Something about returning to space and escaping the weight of Earth's gravity was invigorating.

"ZIM!" A sudden voice breached his audio transmission, deeper than the childish tone he grew to hate but still the same aggression.

"DIB" Zim yelled back, his airflow being used for what it was best at. He forced the call to end, just to piss off the human, but he knew the stupid creature would just hack through again.

"Zim! I'll drag you back to Earth by your shorter antenna-" Zim cut the audio again. Though he felt embarrassed that the human knew of his shorter antenna, in his wounded pride he came up with a retort for the next time the human cut through the audio.

"Would you stop-"

"You're more likely to break your 'glasses' than to return me to the dirt ball!"

"I'd take that bet!"

"You'd have to catch me first!" Zim threw his ship to its highest speed, letting the already blurring expanse of space just smear in his vision. The audio transmission cut on its own from the distance and Zim started to settle down in his escape. And he began to think, which was a dangerous thing if you weren't Zim and nigh deadly if you were in his general area.

_ If I could kill the Dib-thing out here in space- _ no, the idea of killing one of the top of his species would be a waste (it definitely didn't bring a sour taste in his mouth just because it was Dib).  _ Ok ok ok, if I lured him back to the Massive for capture and testing _ yes! That was it, he could capture the human and finally poke at his brain. This plan clearly would not fail, fool proof! If G.I.R. was here he'd cackle evilly with him (but luckily Zim thought to leave the chaos machine at home "to watch if the TV channel changed on its own").

Felling proud of his progress, Zim dropped all plans for his supplies and started upon a new plan to lure the Dib away into the clutches of the Irken Empire.

Dib's face was flushed with rage and exertion by the second time Zim cut him off. Their sudden chase and now high speed- oh. Apparently Zim could travel faster than that. That… was anti-climactic for the exhausted investigator. Zim's Voot became all but a blurry dot after their shouting match.

"Proud of yourself?" The A.I. took back the speaker from the cut transmission. Dib didn't even dignify a response as he flopped out of the chair and onto the floor, his backpack half-hazardly put by the base of the chair. He didn't care about anything other than the adrenaline and thrill of chasing the stupid gremlin down those alleyways.

"Incoming Transmission from: GAZ MEMBRANE." A sudden alert pushed Dib from shallow thoughts, sitting up before his impromptu webcam to accept the call. The image of Gaz flickered in, clearing as time passed, the hacked older cam Dad used to call home was what hosted the call.

"It's Friday Dib-stink." Gaz stated blatantly, but Dib couldn't respond before an image of his Dad took the screen.

"Son! Where are you? Is that the project you mentioned last dinner?" Questions piled up and Dib tried to cover himself and answer. Luckily the cam faced away from the window containing only stars.

"Uh, uh, I'm in a simulator! This is part of the tests for the project, I'll tamper the results if I just leave. The simulation has me…" Dib stuttered, nerves turning his adrenaline into anxiety and sweat, " _ months _ away from home! So sorry I can't attend dinner, but uh-" Gaz pushed herself back into the image, a plate of food sending steam into her face.

"That's why he's video chatting." Gaz has saved the day, again and Dib could cry from all the anxiety shaking him. But he calmed down as Gaz stole their Dad's attention and conversed with him about his month and hers. Dib suddenly felt hungry as he watched his family eat dinner, he guessed that running after just sitting in space must have confused his calorie input/output. As Gaz and his Dad ate some sort of meal he couldn't see, Dib chowed on the most human looking food he could find from his new stash.

Gaz took up the camera, dishes clanking and a brief farewell from Dad offscreen, indicated dinner was over. Dib didn't end the call, he didn't want to and apparently Gaz didn't either.

"Can… can you turn the camera to look outside?" Gaz pipped up as she dried her hands. Dib didn't hesitate to manhandle the device to look out his windshield, he had kept a steady pace to follow Zim's trail despite his speedy escape earlier. "Whoa." Her small inhale made Dib's entire day from finding Zim and losing him again worth it. He took in the squint of Gaz's face, the small 'o' of her mouth (quickly becoming a line again) and the arch of her brows in wonder.

Something that would have taken hold of any person earlier now lodged itself in Dib's mind. He missed Earth, the faces of other people and the presence of Gaz that he had never truly been without until now. It collided with his curiosity, a flame only fed dangerously high by the sights, smells and tastes of Foodcourtia. Dib wouldn't go home, but he wouldn't forget it either.

"See you next month Gaz," Dib smiled and cut off the transmission as Gaz picked up her Game Slave again, giving her brother a small wave in return.


	4. Hunting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dib really didn't think hunting down an Irken through, but things get a little *cagey.* (I'm almost sorry)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I totally forgot to post this chapter among the other original pieces of this but I'll use the ANs to announce that not only will I pick this fic back up, I will be rewriting it (so this may change nearly nothing to everything about this fic)!

Every few weeks Dib's trail of Zim would renew, as if Zim was making sure he didn't fall behind too fast. It made the investigator uneasy, was it a trap or was the Irken just looking for a fight with him? He was too far to hack the audio transmission again, but Dib didn't think he had much to say to the twerp.

The longer he chased after Zim, the more Dib realized he hadn't planned as far ahead as he thought. Where the hell was he going to keep him captured until he returned to Earth? The Invader wouldn't be bound down for long and Dib new Zim could outlast him when it came to sleep.

"Tak, where can I find some sort of hunting supplies, or just a box big enough to stuff Zim into?"

"There should be a planet on your current path," Over their short time in space Tak's A.I. seemed to have softened up, or it just gave up on spiting Dib, "Yes, next planet you come across specializes in those things." Dib was pleased they were right on track. But a few days passed, and the planet came to view, Dib's trail of Zim seemed to veer off directly for it.  _ This could just be a minor supply run, maybe there's other stuff than hunting gear. _ Tak's (more accurately Dib's) Voot passed a sign with the Irken Empire's emblem.  _ Or not. _ As Dib has learned through almost 2 months in space, it was that the Irken Empire liked assigning one job per planet. If this planet was for hunting and under the empire? Then it was  _ only _ for hunting.

This landing was smoother than his last, Tak's advice post-chase from Foodcourtia definitely of use. Poking his head out, Dib saw that this clearing he found was empty of ship and foot traffic. Translator in and backpack on his shoulders, Dib trudged through the grassy area into a busy market.

The amount of noise on just one corner here rivaled an entire city block back on earth. Conversations overlapped into nonsense and so many faces passed that Dib realized he might not see Zim if he was there. Finally a stand with a bunch of cages caught the human's eye and he forced his way through.

"Newcomer, how can I help you?" The shop owner was a Vortain (or at least that's what Tak's data said) and her horns nestled on both sides of her head.

"Hi," Still awkward about talking to new species, Dib scanned the selection, "I'm looking for a cage that's about… 5 feet tall?" That might be a little too big, but he'll make it work.

"Oh boy, that's easy." The shop owner walked from her counter to her stacks of cages. "Force field, closed in, what are we looking for?" She gestured to examples of each as she asked, Dib following her around her stock. He thought for a moment, what's the best way to keep an Irken captive? He couldn't have a closed box because he wouldn't be able to see if Zim escapes, the material should at least be sturdy.

"I think a force field one would work," the human settled, then following the Vortain as she led him to those specific cages. She pointed to certain ones, explaining how some worked or how humane others were until Dib picked one out.

"Alrighty, that'll be…" They returned to the counter, the woman calculating price and Dib setting down the cage to grab the monies. Happily the new owner of a decently sized cage, Dib carried it back to his ship since walking around with it would be difficult; the market place was huge and full of wonders, especially the hidy-hole stores he found.

After buying a few trinkets here and there, backpack now a solid weight, Dib was going to call it a day.  _ Didn't Zim stop on this planet? _ He had totally forgotten he had followed Zim onto this planet, yet there was no sign of the Irken. Nerves shaken, Dib picked up the pace to get to his ship. The sun starting to descend behind the horizon, but the forest his clearing was in was already shadowy and darkening.

"Of all things to leave in the Voot," Dib grunted to himself, tripping over a root, "Why was it the flashlight?" The human threw out his hand to find anything before his face did, the vegetation was thicker than he imagined. After countless roots, a few spider(?) webs and a pair of eyes staring at him as he passed a creek, Dib saw the clearing ahead. He pushed through with careful steps, determined to just sit down in the Voot after all this.

Upon breaking through, Dib saw the sun was nearly gone by how a deep indigo ate up the sky. He had never seen night on another planet before, Foodcourtia had enough lights to forget what time of day it was in the first place. The stronger stars were visible, scattered across the blue as it ate the dying orange-red sunset. This was amazing.

"There you are you worm-baby!" Angry huffs made Dib's stomach drop, he looked at the luminescent pink staring at him. Zim was in a stance to attack, fists balled and holding his center of balance; even with his new height and muscle from years of fighting, Dib was going to have trouble taking Zim down.

"Why were you looking for me?"  _ You should be looking for him, why did he hunt  _ you _ down? _ Dropping his bag, still a short sprint from the Voot, Dib too dropped into a fighting stance.

"That doesn't seem to be important right now," Zim began circling him, forcing more distance from escape by moving him away, "What's important is that I'm here now, and your inevitable loss." The irken warrior lunged at Dib, darkness blurring both figures, and the fight began.


End file.
